But curiously a great part of the medical and pharma research which allows other nations of the World to lead in life expectancy were made in America. European companies like Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Glaxo etc, earn more in America than in Europe. Even a great part of the books that Medicine students use, are made in America. And still, at PPP (purchasing power parity) America´s income per head is 25% higher than in Western Europe or Japan, or three times higher than Russia´s, or six times highter than China´s. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students went to the U.S. during the last 30 years to learn from America. There is a whole Chinese elite which went to American Univiersities, and learnt (and applied) about the Market Economy in America. Even the Russian President Medvedev acknowledges that with his visit to Silicon Valley. China is thriving while America is suffering, but the distance is still too high. At the same time, we can point out that another symbol of decline is a higher level of criminality than any Western European (or Japan) nation, and a much higher level of people in jail or murdered. Still many interesting theories in the Legal area come from America...but they have been implemented in Europe. Also interesting to point out that even if there are more Western European than American companies among the Fortune Global 500, most European companies are old while the U.S. has added dozens of new companies during the last decades. On the other side, while America´s car industry is obsolete and has fallen under Government control, European companies have done a great job facing Japanese competition (true that the European Commission established limites to Japanese imports for years)...

I am not an admirer or lover of US but RT ask any common man in Russia where to look for better life they will say US or Europe. Lets check the figures -- more than 500 thousand Russians live in North America so Are they all planing to go back to there Motherland.........

Bharma these Russians are highly skilled and the U.S needs people with high skills-- in other words-- highly skilled people have been coming to the U.S to work to work and make good living. This does not mean the U.S is better than Russia. What is means is that U.S corporations have been forced to fill high tech jobs by enticing highly skilled workers for higher pay. The real question what does this trend mean for the future of the United States. I am also curios of your use of the term “North America”! This is because Canada has higher quality of life than the United States. So the term North American is not applicable in this case. Canada has publicly funded education system, publicly funded healthcare system. The United States does not have publicly funded universal healthcare system nor does it has universally accessible publicly funded education system. The key issue in this report is that the U.S capacity to entice highly skilled workers is diminishing with the diminishing of the U.S social system and the economic system and the political system. The U.S is decline empire that cannot face reality.

America could be a wonderful country. Nevertheless, this topic, like all the comments related to it forgot the main problem. Since 1945, considering inflation the USA have wasted each year, between 500 millions to ONE TRILLION $ on military equipment. In 2010, the real US military budget, considering a few untrue numbers will have been reached those 1000 billions. Mr Obama cannot do much about it because the MIC (Military Industrial Complex), the Pentagon, wall-Street and the Worldwide billionaires control the situation. The US president was told the exact distance existing between the White-House and the Arlington-Cemetery. The USA = 5% of mankind but nearly 70% of Humanity military spending. Unless competent US politicians master that awful situation, there will be no hope and America will implose. It should be the responsibility of notorious worldwide politicians to warn gently the American people. In 2010 the USA have become a military economy which is contagious through their NATO accomplices. Personally I call my country (France) "Little America" where young Frenchmen are incited to join the military or security companies, or work for those industries. We cannot export anything else (except luxurious products). This explain, in part, the actual retirements benefices crisis ( See my other comments). Sorry Future Generations... Jean-Claude Meslin